Two Great Mysteries: Is it Herbicide Drift and Will My Plant Die?

The weather is
finally warm (almost hot) and the planters are rolling full speed across
central Illinois. Gardens are being planted as well. Planting preparation in
farm fields often includes the use of herbicides to kill off any unwanted weeds
that have set up residence this spring. Invasive species and other miscellaneous
weeds in non-crop areas are being sprayed as well. 'Tis the season for much
growth, and much death of plants. We humans are kind of funny like that.

Speaking of death, the curled, yellowed, and necrotic
spotted leaves have started to arrive at the U of I Plant Clinic. Puzzle pieces
then have to be put together by me and other diagnosticians to determine if
nearby pesticide (often herbicide) applications are possibly to blame for the
injured plants that are dead, yellowed, curled, etc. Of course environmental
conditions, diseases, and insect problems can mimic these symptoms which makes
a proper diagnosis especially challenging.

Couple this with all the different herbicides and various
plants we have gracing our Illinois landscape and things can get complicated
quickly. Then factor in the unknowns such as not knowing when a neighbor
sprayed, what they sprayed or even if they sprayed.

The process has been likened by us as being "CSI for
Plants". We are easily entertained you think, but at least we are enthusiastic
about what we do. "CSI – Urbana". I like
that.

Injury Prevention

Prevention of this unwanted pesticide injury to your
plants is certainly important. It makes things the easiest for all involved.
The reality is that pesticide applications are going to happen across Illinois
this summer. Producers, landscapers, and others have crops, lawns, and other
investments to protect from weeds, insects, and diseases.

If you are a homeowner or perhaps a grower of a sensitive
crop, I STRONGLY encourage you to build good relations with your neighbors and
ask them for advance notice when they spray. By law and depending on the type
of application, they may not be required to give you notice. But, most are
willing to provide this information if asked.

If you are concerned about the health of your plants or
maybe that of your family, share your concerns. If you know "what" will be
sprayed "when," you can plan accordingly by covering your garden with old
blankets, making sure the windows are shut, or keeping the kids out of the yard
during that time.

I'm not saying drift is permissible. Most applicators
will do everything possible to prevent off target movement of pesticides.
However, wind gusts and sudden changes in wind direction can occur. Talking
with your neighbors is the FIRST step towards preventing drift.

I would discourage you from automatically filing a
complaint with the Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDA) when you see the
sprayer nearby. Not surprisingly, that is bad for good neighbor relations! You
will have your neighbor's attention, but is that the type of attention you are
looking for?

Growers don't want their pesticide products to land on
your plants any more than you do. With good neighborly communications, not only
can herbicide injury be prevented but
long, drawn out court cases can also be avoided.

Applicators, please do everything in your power to keep
your applications on target. I know that most of you do. And I shouldn't have
to tell you this but if you have a homeowner at the application site asking you
to stop your application because it's too windy, please take their request
seriously.

Yes, the work has to get done but perhaps there is a
better time for it. Respect each other.
Ignoring requests only escalates emotions. I have children. Trust me. I see this all the
time and was reminded of it yet again today with a possible drift case with
poor communication.

Also available is an online training module that includes
information and helpful tips on preventing and dealing with the off-target
movement of herbicide applications. "Herbicide Tolerant Crop Stewardship" is
available for free at:

Additionally, if you have a particularly sensitive crop
or area that must be protected from pesticide drift, let neighboring
applicators know about it. Commercial crop producers can register their sites
at http://Driftwatch.org (part of FieldWatch, Inc.), which is an online registry
designed to help pesticide applicators, specialty crop growers, and stewards of
at-risk habitats communicate more effectively to protect pesticide-sensitive
areas. Sensitive crop areas registered on this site include beehives, certified
organic crops, fruits, grapes, nursery crops, pumpkins, melons, tomatoes, and
vegetables.

What to do if you suspect
spray drift

Once again, neighborly discussions are important. Perhaps
the two of you can meet to talk about the injury symptoms being shown and what
possible causes there are. Consider when the symptoms first appeared and when
the application was made.

What pesticide was
applied? Is there a pattern to the
injury? Are many species showing symptoms or is it only one plant in a row of
similar plants? What have the weather conditions been and what were they like
at the time of application? Is the applicator willing to pay for damages or
replace dead plants? It is often faster, easier, and cheaper to settle these
disputes without legal involvement.

Compare what you are seeing to other plants. What does
herbicide injury look like on landscape plants? Check out some pictures at
http://urbanext.illinois.edu/hortanswers/ . Search by problem and then type in
"herbicide". The pictures were the result of some U of I demonstration
plots.

You can send affected plant samples to the University of
Illinois Plant Clinic. For information on how to do so, go to
http://web.extension.illinois.edu/plantclinic/. Be sure to include as much
relevant information as possible. Keep in mind that the Plant Clinic does not
perform pesticide residue tests, and without such tests, the cause of a symptom
cannot be attributed to pesticide drift with 100% certainty. However, it is
possible for Clinic staff and specialists to rule out other possible causes and
establish whether the likely cause is drift.

If you choose to file a complaint with IDA, time is of
the essence. The pesticide drift complaint process is started by calling IDA's
Bureau of Environmental Programs at 1-800-641-3934 (voice and TDD) or
217-785-2427 for a complaint form.

Complaint forms must
be received by IDA within 30 days of the incident or within 30 days of when the
damage was first noticed. Complaints filed after that will be kept on record,
but no administrative action can be taken.

The complaint process

Once a complaint is filed with the department, a field
inspector is assigned the case. In most cases, the inspector will interview the
complainant and inspect the site. Various types of samples, such as plants,
water, or soil, may be collected for analysis at an approved laboratory.

The inspector may
also interview applicators in the area, examine pesticide records and collect
weather data in an attempt to determine the nature and cause of the damage. The
field investigator will then submit a report to the Department for review.

Both parties will receive written notification if the
Department finds a violation and takes an enforcement action. Penalties range
from advisory or warning letters to monetary penalties of $750 to $10,000,
depending on the type and severity of the violation. Penalties are determined
through a point system defined in the Illinois Pesticide Act.

Even if a violation of the Illinois Pesticide Act cannot
be substantiated, both the complainant and the alleged violator will be
notified in writing of the complaint's status. Remember, the Department's role
in pesticide misuse incidents is limited to determining whether a violation has
occurred. IDA cannot help complainants recover damages.

Will affected plants die?

That is the million dollar question and the answer is
that it depends. The degree to which the
plant is affected depends on several factors:
the type and amount of chemical applied, the time of year, the growth
stage of the plant, overall health of the plant, etc .

The healthier the plant is (adequate moisture and light)
the more likely it is to survive. Although adding fertilizer is typically
helpful to a stressed plant, fertilizer can also stimulate growth, which can
further increase the appearance of abnormal growth caused by certain
herbicides.

Pictures (taken
5/18/16 ) are of herbicide (fomesafen, metolachlor, and glyphosate) drift injury on pepper, grape, viburnum, and apple.
Similar symptoms were found on a variety of plants along the southeastern
corner of a property that borders a soybean field.

This program allows agriculture producers such as farmers
and commercial applicators a method of disposing of unwanted containers at no
charge without resorting to burying in a landfill or other potentially illegal
means. The 2016 recycling dates will run from July 26, 2016 through August 26,
2016 in 31 Illinois counties. Please refer to the above website for specific
locations, dates, and times.

The program is sponsored by the Illinois Department of
Agriculture in conjunction with the Agriculture Container Recycling Council,
GROWMARK, Inc., the Illinois Fertilizer and Chemical Association, Container
Services Network, the Farm Bureau, and the U of I Extension Service.

Only containers made from high density polyethylene
(HDPE) #2 plastic are acceptable for recycling. Containers must be
triple-rinsed or pressure-rinsed and dry. Metal containers, household pesticide
containers, and containers with liquid in them will not be accepted.

Year-round disposal is also available at three permanent
collection sites in Green, Lawrence, and McLean counties. Please call to ensure
the facility will be open.

IDOA Schedules Clean Sweep Collection in Central Illinois

Program will safely dispose of unwanted
agricultural pesticides

Residents of
twelve central Illinois counties can dispose of unwanted agrichemicals for free
this year through the Illinois Department of Agriculture's (IDOA) agricultural
pesticide "Clean Sweep" program.

A "Clean Sweep" collection has been scheduled in late
summer for Clark, Coles, Crawford, Cumberland, Douglas, Edgar, Effingham,
Jasper, Lawrence, Moultrie, Richland, and Shelby counties, the Department
announced recently.

The collection, which rotates among Illinois counties, is
open to farmers, retired farmers, nursery owners, private pesticide
applicators, structural pest control applicators, and landowners who inherited
unwanted agricultural pesticides with their property.

"There are two main reasons to take advantage of this
program," said John Teefey, Bureau Chief of Environmental Programs. "The
Department is able to provide the service free of charge thanks to a grant
obtained from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

"If individuals
were to properly dispose of agrichemicals on their own, the cost would be
expensive. Secondly, the state of Illinois, not the program participant, will
assume liability for the proper disposal of all materials collected."

Participants must register the products they plan to
dispose of by July 15. Registration is required to give the waste disposal
contractor time to prepare for the different kinds of materials that will need
to be handled. Forms can be obtained either by calling the Illinois Department
of Agriculture's Pesticide Hotline at 1-800-641-3934 or by visiting one of the
program sponsors listed on the IDOA website at:

Completed forms should be mailed or faxed to the Illinois
Department of Agriculture. The mailing address is: Clean Sweep Program, Illinois Department of
Agriculture, State Fairgrounds, P.O. Box 19281, Springfield, IL,
62794-9281. The fax number is (217)
524-4882. Participants then will be sent a reservation card indicating the
date, time and location of their collection.

The "Clean Sweep" program began in 1990 in Illinois. Since the inception of the program, the
Department has held 45 collection events through the state and collected
525,311 pounds of material from 1,893 participants.

EPA Registration Review and Risk Assessments for Insecticides

The U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency has issued an updated schedule for the
Pesticide Registration Review program, covering planned reviews through 2017.
Through the Pesticide Registration Review program, EPA reviews all registered
pesticides at least every 15 years, as mandated by the Federal Insecticide,
Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act. The updated schedule gives a timetable for
opening dockets for the next three years – from now through the end of fiscal
year 2017 (September 2017).

The schedule reflects the Agency's plan that by October
1, 2022, all pesticides that were registered as of October 1, 2007, will have
been reviewed, marking the end of the first 15-year cycle. With the exception
of a small number of biopesticides, the docket openings being announced in this
notice represent the last group to begin the process.

With these, all pesticides registered as of October 1,
2007, will have entered the registration review process. The updated schedule
for pesticide registration review is available
at
https://www.epa.gov/pesticide-reevaluation/registration-review-docket-opening-schedule.

EPA has recently released several draft insecticide risk
assessments for public comment. FIFRA mandates that all pesticides be
re-evaluated on a 15-year cycle. The draft human health and ecological risk
assessments are available for 60 days for public comment.

Aldicarb is an insecticide with no residential uses. It
is a highly toxic, water soluble insecticide that used to be commonly used by
the greenhouse and vegetable industry. Several years ago, its uses were reduced
because of movement in water and toxicity to where it is no longer commonly
used in the Midwest. The draft risk assessment shows risks through the diet as
well as to agricultural workers who mix and apply pesticides. There are also
risks to birds, mammals, aquatic organisms and bees.

Aldicarb is systemic and can be available to bees in
plants via pollen and nectar. Bee incidents have been reported. EPA plans to
gather additional data on the toxicity of aldicarb to pollinators to fully
characterize the risk to all developmental stages of honeybees. Aldicarb
controls a broad spectrum of pests like thrips and nematodes and is valuable to
growers.

EPA welcomes comments including detailed information
regarding potential exposure to workers, the effects of aldicarb on honeybees,
and usage data for sweet potatoes (e.g., pounds of active ingredient applied,
total area treated, percent of crop treated).

Coumaphos is an organophosphate with no residential uses.
It is primarily used to control lice, parasitic flies, mites, and ticks on
domestic animals as well as flies in manure. The draft risk assessment for
coumaphos shows risks through the diet and to agricultural workers. EPA plans
to refine their estimates with additional information related to the use of
coumaphos to treat cattle for ticks. EPA welcomes comments including additional
measures to further protect workers and the benefits of and alternatives to
coumaphos use on cattle and dairy cows.

EPA encourages stakeholders and interested members of the
public to visit the dockets containing the draft risk assessments and related
documents and submit comments by June 26, 2016. Proposed decisions will include
any necessary mitigation measures to reduce exposure.

The draft risk assessment and other supporting documents
are available in the docket at http://www.regulations.gov in each respective docket:
aldicarb, EPA-HQ-OPP-2012-0161; coumaphos, EPA-HQ-OPP-2008-0023.

Three pesticides with draft risk assessments available for
public comment are: Bensulide, EPA-HQ-OPP-2008-0022; Ethalfluralin,
EPA-HQ-OPP-2011-0094; and Pirimiphos-Methyl, EPA-HQ-OPP-2009-0056.

EPA has reevaluated the data supporting the use of
sulfoxaflor and is now proposing to approve an amended registration with fewer
uses and additional requirements that will protect bees.

The proposed registration is very protective of
pollinators and includes fewer crops than were allowed under sulfoxaflor's
previous registration. For bee-attractive crops, sulfoxaflor use will be
prohibited before and during bloom, when bees are likely to be present.
Applications are prohibited on crops grown for seed production.

Additional measures are being proposed to reduce spray
drift: prohibiting applications if wind speeds are above 10 mph and requiring
the use of medium to coarse spray nozzles. In addition, EPA is requesting
public comment on two provisions they are considering.

One that would impose a downwind, 12-foot, on-field
buffer zone when there is blooming vegetation bordering the treated field and
the second would prohibit tank mixing sulfoxaflor with other pesticides. These
restrictions are meant to further reduce exposure to bees, reducing the risk to bees below EPA's level
of concern such that no additional data requirements are required.

Sulfoxaflor is a sulfoximine, a new insecticide class,
and is safer for bees and other pollinators, lady beetle larvae and other
beneficial insects. It is a critical tool in Pesticide Resistance Management
and Integrated Pest Management programs, potentially replacing multiple
applications of compounds with a higher risk to people and non-target
organisms.

It specifically targets piercing, sucking insects, such
as aphids, mealybugs and whiteflies – frequent vectors of viral and bacterial
diseases that can result in complete loss of important, high-value crops and
trees. Sulfoxaflor works against pests that are becoming resistant to
carbamate, neonicotinoid, organophosphate and pyrethroid insecticides

EPA is soliciting public comment for 30 days. Comments on
the EPA's proposed regulatory decision must be submitted no later than June 17,
2016. Comments may be submitted to the sulfoxaflor docket EPA-HQ-OPP-2010-0889
at http://www.regulations.gov. After the comment period closes, EPA will review all of
the comments and reach a final decision, which the Agency expects to issue in
late summer or early fall 2016.

EPA has announced the availability of the draft
biological evaluations for the registration reviews of all uses of
chlorpyrifos, diazinon, and malathion for public review and comment. Comments
must be received on or before June 10, 2016. Submit comments, identified by
docket identification (ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2016-0167.

Chlorpyrifos is an organophosphate insecticide,
acaricide, and miticide used to control a variety of insects on a variety of
food and feed crops. Currently registered uses include a variety of fruits,
nuts, vegetables, grains, and non-agricultural areas (such golf course turf,
industrial sites, greenhouses and nurseries, sod farms, and wood products).
Public health uses include aerial and ground-based fogger treatments to control
mosquitoes.

Comments on the draft biological evaluation for
chlorpyrifos should be submitted to the chlorpyrifos registration review docket
(EPA-HQ-OPP-2008-0850) at http://www.regulations.gov.

Diazinon is a restricted use organophosphate insecticide
currently registered for use on a number of fruits, vegetables, nuts,
ornamentals, and in cattle ear tags. All residential uses were phased out as
part of risk mitigation during reregistration, and there are currently no
residential uses. EPA has completed a draft biological evaluation to assess
whether all registered uses of diazinon may affect listed species and
designated critical habitat.

Malathion is a non-systemic, wide spectrum
organophosphate insecticide. It is used in the agricultural production of a
wide variety of food/feed crops to control insects such as aphids, leafhoppers,
and Japanese beetles. Malathion is also used in USDA's Cotton Boll Weevil
Eradication Program, Fruit Fly (Medfly) Control Program, and for mosquito-borne
disease control.

It is also registered for outdoor residential uses which
include vegetable gardens, home orchards, and ornamentals. EPA has completed a
draft biological evaluation to assess whether all registered uses of malathion
may affect listed species and designated critical habitat.